piscicidal

I've had three triple digit days. One of those was actually my last trip out (7/7)...I got into a literal feeding frenzy out at the Everglades where I caught fish from a football-field sized area every other cast for ~two hours (I got tired and quit). It was certainly the most fish I've ever caught on one trip...I quit counting after ~80, but my final tally was probably closer to 200 than 100. My second time was also in the everglades...low water situation where the fish were stacked up in the canal and we just pounded them all day. My third was on Okeechobee, I found another feeding frenzy situation where schools of big bass were stacked into this small, shallow area gorging on spawning bluegill. I caught ~120 that day, with 30-40 of them over 3lbs and six over five. I figure I caught ~300lbs of bass that day.

This is the park on 21st ave (between Oakland Park Blvd and Commercial), correct? That is the C13 canal. I own a rental house on that canal...it is actually brackish water there (east of the spillway) but does have bass in it. It has jack, snook and tarpon in it as well. Those may be the big fish you are seeing. The spillway for that canal is just west of the park. When that spillway is open (usually after some heavy rains) you can wear yourself out catching big snook/tarpon.

Btw, the second place I went was where Robert and I whupped em 36hours earlier. I didn't get a bite, there! You gotta be willing to run around a little bit and go find those fish. I went through 15 gallons of gas, Saturday, and my 850lb flats boat sips fuel compared to most bass boats.

Apparently, I'm in the minority here...but I prefer my quantum smoke to my curado 200E. I bought both new this April, so I may represent a good data point. I disagree with those who say the curado is smoother...my Smoke is smoother. The smoke is much lighter, has a stronger drag and I much prefer the Smoke's brake adjustments. I can cast it farther as well and have had almost no issues with backlash. Maybe I got a good one?? Granted, the Smoke is a little more expensive and I agree that the Curado is probably a better buy for the money. I have to say, though...my favorite setup for moving baits (frogs, swimbaits) is my Smoke/Veritas combo. Very, very light. For ~$250 I don't think you can beat this combo and plan on adding a couple more.

Robert is right...Lox can be a tough nut to crack but the fish are there. He and I had a 23lb bag (5fish) three days ago and I caught well over 100 fish there yesterday. The fish move around alot out there and you need to move to find them. I had six fish after four hours yesterday. When I finally did find them, I caught fish virtually every other cast for two hours straight. It really didn't matter what I threw either.

Thanks for the trip, Robert. Perfect weather, good company and great fishing. I've been running the canals at Alligator Alley/Holiday Park for the past three months bombing lily pads. It was awesome to get out to Lox...run around a little bit, try a few things, establish a pattern and catch some good ones. Love that (stuff)... You can bring 10 rods with you to Lox and still wish you had brought one more.

Hey Bruce. Good to see you out there today. You fared better than me...I might have had 12lbs. Had a 4 and a 3 and a bunch of dinks. I did OK in my first spot but had a fuel line problem and ended up coming back and fishing near the park. Did the Hicks win?

Right on, Glenn. I'll be attending a 4th of July parade in Springfield, NY (just outside Cooperstown). Today we salute this fine country and remember all those who helped make it great. Happy 4th of July everybody.

I hooked one of the largest Gators I have ever seen at Holiday Park a few days ago. I was throwing a rage toad into the lily pads early morning when I had a HUGE blowup on my frog. Next thing...this huge gator (~10ft) comes swimming out into the canal chomping down on my frog. Surprisingly, I had very little trouble getting him to the boat. Granted my frog rig is pretty stout and has 65lb test. I horsed him right to the boat and promptly cut the line.

I put 50 yards on flipping/pitching setups and 100 yards on casting setups. OkojobiEagle makes a very good point about cutting it too close with the length on your casting setups. If you only put 50-60 yards on the reel, you are a couple birdsnests/reties away from replacing the 30some yards you have left. You will actually use more line instead of using less. I retie alot on my frog/swimbait setups as the line is constantly cutting through sawgrass/cattails/lily pads/etc so 100 yards is a must. I like the 50/100 allocation as most line spools come in 50 yard increments.

I went to Holiday Park this morning. Not a ton of fish (~15) but good size. One 5, one 4, and a couple 2.5s. Lost two toads as well. One of them would have been my biggest this year...in the 7-8lb range. Frogs and BigEz early, flipping 1oz tungsten & space monkey and 3/8 oz jig later. Water is pushing down pretty good from N to S down L67. I went into Miami Canal to check out those small cuts to Marsh Area #1 and the water is gushing into there. It looks like I could just about make it into MA1 from L67, but I didn't want to risk it with a storm coming in. A couple more days and I might give it a go.

My wife would agree with this sentiment. This was trip #22 to China for me. Beijing and Tianjin for me. Qingdao is where they make the beer...I know the place well.

I've been talking to Mike (Mikeyballzfishing) a little bit by email. He fished Luke's open as well, finishing 2nd with right around 27lbs. I talked to him for about a half hour out there at the park the day before I left to China...I figured he would do pretty well. He was on some good fish.

Those fish sure don't get the summer off, with Bruce out there slaying em every day. Keep posting those picture guys. I'm still stuck in China, jealous as (heck).

Bruce, Robert (South Fla) and I were fishing 20mile point a couple weeks ago. We knew exactly where your spot was but we left in alone because it's "your" spot and we figured there was a chance that the classic would be held at Lox. I literally can't imagine jumping someone else's fish...much less during a big tourney like this. Check your cell phone for a PM.

Good job Bruce. Only 1.5lbs away from being champ, and you took the high road. That's something to be proud of. Karma has a way of catching up with people (both good and bad). Yesterday I got into it with some jerk at Holiday Park who tied up his boat at the boat ramp, blocking one of the two ramps. Pulling his boat out, I heard a horrible scraping sound as his boat and/or trailer scraped up against some concrete at the side of the ramp. Karma caught up to him real quickly.

Sheesh...pretty bold to do a break in there. There's only one way out and the road is about 3miles long. A lot of law enforcement there also...I've been stopped almost everytime I've launched at 20mile bend. I'm probably about done fishing until the water comes up a bit. Okeechobee/South Lox are too low. North Lox has good fishing, but it's a long drive for me and if there's a risk of vehicle damage, then that's probably a deal breaker. Pretty much every ramp on the Alley is unuseable for me, except the SE ramp at MM35...and the water quality/fishing is not good @ north Miami Canal right now. Holiday Park has some good fish, but it's a friggin zoo there. I got in an argument with some idiot there yesterday who tied his boat up at the boat launch, blocking one of the two ramps.

If it's real windy, mosquitos shouldn't be too much of an issue anyway... At trolling motor speeds is the thermacell effective?

Had a large gator bump the boat (hard) one time at Lox in what was clearly an aggressive move. Discretion being the better part of valor...we quickly found a new spot to fish.

I recently ordered a pile of them from TW. The ones I ordered the most of: #08 Wild Shiner, #09 Clear Chartruese, and # 18 Chrome Shad.

No doubt! Aruko Shad is my favorite lipless by a good margin. However, there are times when I prefer the red eye shad. The red eye shad shimmies on the downfall and I think gets more hits when using a yo-yo retrieve.

Thanks Dave! I will take my rubber mallet to the "bonepile" I have in the garage. If I can't get them to run true, I'll return them to Strike King. If they are shipping product with a known design flaw, then they should have no trouble taking my return.

I hear you. I wonder about the ramps down at Tamiami...if they are anything like those at the Alley, I can't use them. I wouldn't want to make that drive only to turn around and not fish. Shane, are those ramps pretty "steep" with this water level? How about that "magic canal" ramp? That one seems fairly remote looking at Google Maps...I wonder if there are issues with theft/vandalism there? The water clarity in L67 was terrible yesterday. Strong east winds plus all those big boats running around on Memorial Day...the water was really muddy. The Miami Canal section was much clearer. We were pretty much sight fishing. My son loves to fish. I've got a thread in the "My Fishing Trip or Tournament" forum with him in some videos. He was up at O-dark thirty yesterday morning ready to go. He already has two tackle boxes full of stuff. I've created a monster.

Question: does the U40 sealer affect the "tackiness" of the grip? Does the grip become more slippery when wet with the sealer applied?

I use right-hand retrieve BC reels. I flip/pitch left handed or right handed, using whichever is more efficient given the circumstances. I cannot cast overhead left handed.